The Charge

Opening Statement

Finally, a Chiba box set with Chiba actually in it! Unlike previous BCI
Eclipse box sets (which had Chiba on the cover and hardly anywhere else),
Lethal Chiba features three serious Chiba-filled films full of
butt-kicking aplenty: Killing Machine, The Executioner, and
Karate Inferno: The Executioner II.

Facts of the Case

Killing Machine

(Sh ôrinji Kenp ô) (1975)

Doshin So (Sonny Chiba) serves his country during the Pacific War in China
as an undercover spy. After Japan surrenders, his spirit is broken. Returning
home, he finds that his family's land has been seized. He struggles with his
role in life without battle, horrified by the suffering and despondency of
postwar Japan. Vowing to fight for justice, he helps rescue a town from a group
of black marketers and begins to rebuild his life centered on a stringent code
of righteousness. Setting up a martial arts dojo, he strives on a never-ending
quest to increase his strength and protect those in need. Japan may be defeated,
but So will never give up the fight!

The Executioner

(Chokugeki! Jigoku-ken) (1974)

Ryuichi Koga (Sonny Chiba) is the latest in a long line of ninja, heir to
the secrets of the Koga clan. But much to his grandfather's dismay, the youngest
member of the clan has no desire to continue living a monastic lifestyle. He
takes off to the city and becomes a private investigator, of sorts, using his
talents to take seedy jobs.

One day, Koga is contacted by a beautiful woman and contracted to take a
dangerous job. Led by an ex-police captain, the group will hire a trio of
trained killers to take down a dangerous and deadly gang of drug smugglers,
whose products are flooding the Japanese country and destroying a generation of
youth. Koga could care less about the plight of the Japanese people, but when
the captain says he can keep the drug money, Koga agrees.

Along with ex-police officer turned underworld contract killer Hayabusa
(Makoto Sato) and convicted rapist/murderer Sakura (Eiji Go, brother of
chipmunk-cheeked Jo Shishido), the trio infiltrates organized crime in Japan and
tries to stop the drug flow, once and for all and, hopefully, make a nice profit
in the process.

Karate Inferno: The Executioner II

(Chokugeki jigoku-ken: Dai-gyakuten) (1974)

The Kaufman family jewel, a fabulously wealthy stone owned by rich heiress
Sabine, has been stolen! Worse, her daughter has been kidnapped as well and is
being held for ransom. Fearing the police cannot help, Koga (Chiba) and his two
killer companions are called in to facilitate the rescue and recovery of the
jewel. They succeed in recovering the daughter, but lose the jewel -- and the
ransom money!

The heiress gets the jewel back by paying the ransom again, cheating the
team out of yet another payday. Refusing to be stiffed yet again, Koga decides
to steal the jewel from the heiress in revenge, but is horrified to discover the
Kaufman jewel is a fake! The real stone is being held in a maximum-security
office building, protected by numerous armed guards. Refusing to leave well
enough alone, Koga and his men decide to take on the challenge of breaking into
the building and stealing the jewel, once and for all.

The Evidence

Lethal Chiba is the latest in a long line of BCI Eclipse releases
featuring Sonny Chiba -- some more than others -- including The Shogun
Collection, The Sonny Chiba Action Pack, and The Samurai
Collection Featuring Sonny Chiba. Of the three, this set is the first to
feature Chiba as a main character in all. Often, his appearances in previous
volumes amounted to nothing more than a cameo. So right off the bat, Lethal
Chiba stands out from its predecessors quite well. So let's get to the films
in question.

Based on the real-life Doshin So, who invented Shorinji Kempo, a martial art
that combined Japanese karate, Daito-ryu aiki-jujutsu, and judo techniques into
Shaolin-style kung fu, Killing Machine is a solid Chiba martial arts film
from the 1970s, but otherwise a fairly unremarkable example of its genre, save
for its slightly better-than-average plot and character development.

Though mildly mediocre by martial arts film standards, Killing
Machine is punctuated by enough fight sequences, hewn limbs, and broken
bones to satisfy fight purists. The fighting style of choice, a throw-heavy
blend of hard and soft fighting, is brutally effective at dislocating shoulders
and breaking noses. Chiba may lack the flair and style of modern-day action
stars, but there is something inherently satisfying about the overly intense way
he goes about beating people down. Here, So kicks a lot of butt, wrenches a lot
of arms from sockets, and throws his fancy moves around -- but amusingly enough,
does no killing, making Killing Machine one of the most unfortunate
English title translations around. He does kick a mean pair of wooden sandals,
though.

So quickly establishes a dojo and gets involved in the plights of various
secondary characters, but such plot devices are mostly for filler. For example,
a group of gangsters sexually assault some girls and get their heads cracked
open. One student loses his arm defending his sister in a fight, and falls into
an alcoholic depression. There is a romantic subplot involving a friend who is
trying to locate his missing wife, but this problem, like all the other problems
in the film, is resolved the same way. So beats the tar out of someone or the
characters devote themselves more to their training. Shao-lin solves all, after
all. Eventually, So's do-gooding becomes a nuisance for the ruling powers,
gangsters and police alike, and they set out to destroy his dojo. So, of course,
kicks ass in reply. He overcomes his weaknesses and helps others to do the same;
in this way, the entire country of Japan finds redemption for its dishonorable
defeat at the hands of foreigners. Err, yeah. The message may be somewhat
xenophobic, but kind of positive...I guess?

The slightly odd underlying message of Killing Machine is one of
fierce Japanese nationalism. After surrendering in the Pacific War, So watches
Japan descend into depression, self-loathing, and submission under foreign
powers. So is not content to stand idly by and see his country descend into
chaos. He adopts a firm, almost militant, attitude towards personal growth and
training. He rights wrongs, defends the weak and impoverished, and has little
respect for authority, breaking the law when it suits his samurai-esque code of
ethics. He constantly butts heads with corrupt government officials and crooked
gangsters alike. He is, in short, one righteous dude.

Dated by the corny music cues and rapid zoom-ins, Killing Machine is
a product of the 1970s, no doubt about it. Fortunately, the subplots buoy the
film well enough to make Killing Machine a decent enough watch. The
acting is hokey, and the plot is clichéd and riddled with logical
fallacies, but it's a Chiba martial arts film, man. I mean, the fact that we
have a believable plot at all is something worth noting. The final sequence --
Chiba versus a small army -- is worth sticking around for, if only for the
awesome wah-wah funk music.

Killing Machine is not a spectacular film, and certainly not one I'd
ever seek out as a stand-alone title, but its inclusion here in a box set of
Chiba films is by no means unwelcome.

Starting with the high-pitched scream and black screen hand-jiving martial
arts demo of the opening credits, The Executioner comes barreling out the
gates at a full roar of machismo and muscle. This one is a true Chiba classic --
it makes no bones about what kind of film it is and how much ass it fully
intends to kick. Then it goes out and kicks that ass in short order. An
overflowing smorgasbord of martial arts splendor and visceral style, The
Executioner has bloody one-punch killings, popped eyeballs, ninja attacks,
massive amounts of murder and mauling, beatings and brutalities, short skirts
and naked women, funky music, and slapstick comedy. And that's just in the first
15 minutes. By my count, this makes The Executioner the single greatest
film ever created. No, really.

Shameless exploitation at it highest form, The Executioner
personifies all that was bad and glorious about Japanese yakuza fighting films
in the 1970s, a genre driven over the top trying to counter Hong Kong's
international success with Bruce Lee. It has funky modern soundtracks, faceless
gangsters, violent fights, excessive gore, and over-the-top nudity and female
exploitation. Hell, Chiba even cuts his hair and fights like Lee in this one.
Today, The Executioner feels ridiculous and nonsensical, painfully dated
like a shag carpet but undeniably entertaining and campy. The over-the-top
attitude translates well to a modern audience. Purists may find the film
juvenile and excessive in its indulgences, but such people are wrong and need a
skull punch to the back of their head that pops their @#$% eyeballs out.

Sorry, I got carried away. It happens with a movie this awesome. But in all
seriousness, The Executioner is fantastic fun at the expense of common
sense. Equally at home with dismemberment as bad comedy, the film's balance
between comedy and violence feels unnatural at times. Admittedly, its constant
need to undermine its own seriousness lessens its impact, but tongue-in-cheek
excess is exactly what people crave from Chiba's pulp run in the 1970s, right?
Really, the only thing The Executioner is guilty of in my book is
diabolically giving us too much of a good thing.

To put into context what this film is all about, I paraphrase a small
sequence n the film. Imagine if you will: Koga descends from the ceiling to see
a man and a woman making love. He watches with a cat-like grin on his face,
hands behind his head, until he is spotted. Fighting ensues, with the girl
hollering in the background. Koga knocks the man down to the ground and, when he
gets up, inexplicably, he sees Koga in bed with his girl, crawling all over her
under the covers. Furious, he swings his fists down upon him, but Koga moves out
of the way just in time -- crushing the girl in half beneath the villain's
gigantic fists. The sequence, like the film as a whole, is utterly pointless,
ridiculous, and shamefully exploitative, and I love every second of it.

The film is stylishly directed, but the story and acting are predictably
ludicrous -- Chiba and cast let it hang out for this film, reveling in the
tongue-and-cheek stupidity and looking like they're have a great time in the
process. It may be stupid, but you can't help but laugh. The fighting is taken
to ludicrous extreme, full of popped eyeballs, ribs torn from chests, and all
manner of absurdities. The fighting may be far from authentic, but it kicks butt
-- and there's a lot of it.

If you like your films bloody and ridiculous, this is your new favorite
film. If like myself, you've been looking for a good edition of The
Executioner on DVD, you've definitely found it.

First things first: Karate Inferno: The Executioner II has the best
sequel title this side of Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo. The word
"karate" is infinitely improved and made awesome by pairing it with
the word "inferno." The Japanese know things, my friend.

If there was any doubt that The Executioner II would fail to deliver
on its predecessor's namesake, set such fears aside immediately. They are, in
fact, almost the same movie: the second begins with exactly the same premise as
the first, bringing the same three oddball assassins and outcasts together to
perform a job "under the table," with hilarious and deadly results
ensuing. It would feel very redundant were it not made painstakingly clear how
much fun the filmmakers are having riffing off themselves.

Actually, they have way too much fun. Truth be told, The Executioner
II is even stupider than the original, like seeing The Three Stooges as
Japanese action heroes in the 1970s. The buddy comedy angle is heightened here,
with far more physical comedy, slapstick, and goofing around by its
protagonists, making for a lighter and fluffier film, but one utterly devoid of
any action or fighting. In fact, nearly all the butt-kicking this time has been
replaced with bodily function gags and clichéd comedy. Talk about false
advertising! With a name like Karate Inferno -- oh, who am I kidding? I
never get tired of that name.

Exploitation cinema at its most laughable, The Executioner II is
painfully 1970s: bad suits, aviator glasses, chain smoking, and the whole nine.
The Japanese twist on the genre is fairly diluted. Overall, it is a very
Western-styled film, modern in direction, humor, and irrelevant amounts of
nudity. Truthfully, The Executioner II is less a martial arts film and
more a caper film like The Italian Job full of James Bond-style suaveness
and espionage. Forget any pretext about Koga being a ninja here. He is basically
a spy for hire now, dancing through the city like a badly dressed gangster,
fighting bad guys with a porno soundtrack playing in the background. All done
for laughs, mind you; this film doesn't have a serious bone in its body.

Unfortunately, the comedy is pretty lame, with lots of fart and food jokes,
taking the sequel too far away from its source material into the realm of
something entirely simulated and parodied. By reducing dangerous contract
killers into bumbling klutzes, any shred of realism or toughness that The
Executioner had is traded for laughs and gags -- cheap ones, too. The trio
trips over their feet, plays practical jokes on each other, and somehow always
manages to mess the job up just enough to never get paid. They punch each other
in the crotch, throw things at one another, and generally act like bumbling
fools, light years away from the dangerous and bad-ass attitudes cultivated in
the first film. This shift towards light comedy doesn't make the film worse, per
se, since the films really are very different in tone. But it sure makes it more
disposable and forgettable.

The plot boils down to basically a jewel heist and feels like a Japanese
kung fu remake of The Pink Panther, with Inspector Clouseau gene-spliced
into three Japanese men. The plot is amusing at times, but utterly preposterous,
even within the context established by the first film. Despite being perpetually
underpaid, the trio seems to have absurd resources at their disposal, like
sniper rifles, dynamite, and Cessna airplanes. The Executioner was kind
of stupid, too, but it had criminals helping the police to beat drug dealers out
of Japan, which had an air of nobility and redemption about it. In Karate
Inferno, the three break into vaults and steal jewels from wealthy heiresses
for pure profit. Check your brain cells at the door, ladies and gentleman.

The special effects are horrendous. Of particular note are some laughably
awkward airplane and helicopter sequences in which characters are superimposed
in front of some of the lousiest blue screen work you will ever see. As for
fight sequences, you can forget about it. As mentioned, the film eschews those
in favor of stupid comedy, seriously challenging the film's kick-ass namesake.
Still, Karate Inferno earns its name with some decent sequences towards
the end and people hurled off rooftops. Unfortunately, all the capering and
heisting of the film wastes an hour out of an 85-minute film, which doesn't
leave much time for the bone-breaking.

Fans of The Executioner may get some mileage out of Karate
Inferno, but the sequel is definitely not up to par with the original. More
of a screwball comedy than a martial arts film, it can be good for a chuckle if
you're in the mood for something preposterous.

The transfers for all three films occupy that uncomfortable position between
good and bad. I appreciate the restoration work and clean image in comparison to
earlier, crappier DVD releases, but I'm trying to ignore the fact that the
picture still doesn't look very good. Both The Executioner and The
Executioner II have had some pretty shoddy appearances on DVD, and fans will
be happy to see these nice anamorphic pictures, with solid black levels and
detail. Unfortunately, the source material still looks fairly rough around the
edges, some print damage is still evident, and colors are still fairly murky and
muted. At the end of the day, given the production value and preservation, this
will probably be the best these films ever look.

The music in these three films is a fantastic amalgamation of styles and
funkiness, a blend of 1970s funk and dance intermixed with unfamiliar Japanese
melodies that is sure to tickle the fancy of any music aficionado. In
particular, the Executioner films have the craziest music, a bodacious
amalgamation of horns, high hats, and fuzz pedals. The Executioner II has
big bongo drums and fills, like a funky Japanese recreation of the theme music
from Hawaii Five-O, complete with jive dancing go-go girls. If you're not
hip to this, you're not hip at all, brother!

All three films have their original mono presentations in Japanese, and only
Killing Machine has a remixed 5.1 channel. Previous versions of these
films only contained a goofy English dub, so it is nice to see the original
track finally available. The original tracks sound as good as one can hope --
screeching trebles and murky bass response, but clear dialogue, minimal hissing,
and decent ambient distribution. I liked Killing Machine's 5.1 track and
wish all three films could have received the treatment -- better bass and
clearer details.

Like many of BCI Eclipse's releases, this three-pack box set is simply a
re-release of Adness single disc releases. Normally, double-dipping is frowned
upon, but, to my knowledge, neither Executioner film is currently in
print, so Lethal Chiba is as a good value -- especially when considering
the lousy transfers previous releases from other studios had.

Extras, as with previous box set releases, are negligible: only a half-dozen
trailers.

The Rebuttal Witnesses

Let's be honest here: Killing Machine isn't very good and Karate
Inferno has a fantastic name, but is a profoundly stupid movie. So, we've
got three films at a decent bargain, but two of them aren't very good. As much
as I liked the overall experience of these three films together, one part of my
brain (you know, the part that isn't a crazy pre-pubescent fan boy) realizes my
fallacy.

Closing Statement

The way I figure it, this box set pays for itself by including good-looking
versions of The Executioner and The Executioner II together in the
same package, silly as they are. The fact that you get Killing Machine
tossed in for nothing is pure frosting, my friend. Though none of these films
personifies Chiba's best work, Lethal Chiba is a good value for anyone
looking to quickly shoot a dose of fighting adrenaline into their DVD
library.

The Verdict

I wish I could punch someone so hard that his eyeballs popped out. I would be
very popular at the annual Judges Drinking Jamboree.